no city tax increase

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Penn

Penn

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to my shock- the city passed a budget with no tax increase.
I thought for sure we were going to get socked.
 
county and school will go up. Either way- we were expecting the city to as well.

I am happy it wont. We ran 4 people for city elections and lost. I will take what I can get tho.
 
Penn said:
to my shock- the city passed a budget with no tax increase.
I thought for sure we were going to get socked.
Click to expand...

my taxes actually went down 100. I don't know why.
 
Our property taxes went up almost 5%. Mostly due to an airport which nobody uses since there are two international airports within 2 hours, and a pretty awesome library.
 
This is what regulations and devaluation of the currency do.
 
Penn said:
This is what regulations and devaluation of the currency do.
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IF...and it is a big IF, they really work on the airport to turn it into a decent regional one, I won't be as mad. We travel a few times a year and it would be nice to fly in and out of town on a decent carrier, not have to pay for parking, or drive an hour to the airport.

I am not sure what the plans are with the library, it is already very nice.
 
the next town over is getting 12-15% increase.
 
I bought the house I'm in now for 29,500 and the property tax was 400. Now it is appraised at 89,900 and the tax dropped this year from 1700 to 1600. I've done few improvements other than putting on a metal roof and a woodstove. I built an adjacent 9 by 33 foot greenhouse which they tax as living space.
 
County tax- going up- (that leaves the school board yet) the average increase will be $24. For the city my house is above average. Being that I have a corner lot and shelter for 2 cars. So the mils are higher on a corner lot and if you have a garage/carport. (I have a carport for 2 cars)

For the county tho- my place is modest, and by no means average. Many have acreage - garages, and improvements.

THe past year there was an increase- I chose to pay the mortgage company the overage so that my payments would not change. (thy did $1 due to rounding)

I fought my assessment 3x. The first time I won a nice decrease. I began the process of fighting it again-2x- however for what ever reason I dropped it. When you fight an increase your taxes can actually go UP. I simply did not want the pressure- the cost to file an appeal is $15, and it can only happen 1 time a year- if you mess the public meeting you lose out period.

We get a few types of exemptions in PA.

1. Homestead. When I first bough this was not applied and could not be tabulated until the next full year.

2. In addition to that is the casino exemption. Every homeowner shares in the take of the casinos- this is how they sold them in PA. The amount varies widely-for this town that amount is in the neighborhood over $200.

3. Elderly/disabled low income folks also get a rent/property tax rebate. The formula takes your income for the year- divided by 12, times the number of months you lived there. The maximum- amount of this rebate had been $500, a few years ago- it increased to $650. The $650 is not increased due to inflation, nor is the homestead exemption, nor is the casino rebate.

On the 2 or 3 year- I dialed in the homestead exemption. I then dialed in the then $500 disabled rebate- around that time the casino credit kicked in- so for years
2,3,4 - my actual taxes for the house- came to zero. The thing is- you have to pay it thru the mortgage escrow and then when they are ready the "rebate" it. (July 1)

However the increases keep coming and the govt figures the casino money is there- spend it.

So for years 5, 6 and this year is year 7- my taxes have surpassed the $650 (disabled rebate) the $200 (casino rebate) and what ever the homestead exemption is.

When I was getting back the rebates- the increases did not mean as much as they do now.

So the $24 increase will mean $2 a month....

In the mean time the city wants new schools, the county wants a new 911 center and a new prison.

I am not sure how to go cheaper.

For a long time- I had my eye on near by towns that had lower taxes.

When they now are socked with taxes that are pretty darn close to what I am paying. The thing is- it is a further drive to aldis, the dollar tree, flea market, my favorite thrift stores.

So to ponder where do I live that is is cheaper- is a tough one.

I do not need to be near the job base- but should be bear the cheaper stores, and while it doesnt have to be state of the art medical facilities- some type of medical is good.

PA is one state with huge disparity in taxes.

I pondered maybe it is time to rent a room out. I am not sure I want to tho.

Starting over- then would mean a 30 year mortgage- where I am at- I am paid off in 23 years.

I pondered going into the highrise-- it is 30% of your check. I thought about plowing the equity in the house into silver then rent.

Ulikely that I will tho.

If 500 oz will buy an average house paid in full at some point- that could be worth waiting for.
 
Penn, I don't think you need worry about 23 years from now. The system is collapsing. They are closing the new schools they built here because they don't have funds to run them. (Of course, the structures aren't paid for yet).
 
I have seen $16,000 house with $1650 taxes a year- and a $50,000 house with taxes of $550 a year.
 
There is a pretty large city about an hour from me, and they have neighborhoods that are considered urban development projects, that are property tax free for 20 or 25 years from the date of purchase. The areas are near hospitals and are getting massive homes build in the area. It is making some people mad that they are missing out on tax dollars, but I guess the redevelopment worked. Proof that taxing can curve behavior.
 
69mach351 said:
There is a pretty large city about an hour from me, and they have neighborhoods that are considered urban development projects, that are property tax free for 20 or 25 years from the date of purchase. The areas are near hospitals and are getting massive homes build in the area. It is making some people mad that they are missing out on tax dollars, but I guess the redevelopment worked. Proof that taxing can curve behavior.
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WalMart is proof that taxing can curb behavior.
 
notice tho- how that works. A company gets 20 years tax break- comes in- for 20 years- once that 20 years is up- they close up- leaving an empty building eye soar.
 
Virtually every city and county in the west 1/2 of the state has a surplus right now, not to mention our state is trying to figure out what to do with the extra billions of yearly surplus it has. Now don't worry they don't plan on doing anything foolish with it like giving it back to the citizens or doing anything drastic like cutting taxes. They are spending much of it wisely like raises for themselves and pet projects for their districts.
 
Penn said:
notice tho- how that works. A company gets 20 years tax break- comes in- for 20 years- once that 20 years is up- they close up- leaving an empty building eye soar.
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This is for homes, not for businesses. The homes going up are 4k-6k square foot, custom built homes. The reason it is making a lot of people angry, is because these homes would bring in significant taxes ($6k-15k or more per home depending on where) if they chose to build elsewhere. From a buyer/builder standpoint, it would be great. Someone could "afford" a lot more expensive home since taxes are usually a large portion of the payment. It could also be paid off before you have to pay a dime in taxes.
 
11C1P said:
Virtually every city and county in the west 1/2 of the state has a surplus right now, not to mention our state is trying to figure out what to do with the extra billions of yearly surplus it has. Now don't worry they don't plan on doing anything foolish with it like giving it back to the citizens or doing anything drastic like cutting taxes. They are spending much of it wisely like raises for themselves and pet projects for their districts.
Click to expand...


edited to add: average cop salary 177,000 a year.
 
69- that is bizzarre- many areas are charging an impact fee to new houses- this to pay for infrastructure. What state are you in?

Sad news- we lost a popular state rep today. He was retired and 85- but very well liked here.
 
This is in KC along the KS/MO border - so there are a lot of different taxes, regulations etc. that get fought over. This particular instance is a neighborhood that is known to be rough with sub $30k houses. Someone recently finished a $500k house and the big selling point, is that it will not be taxed for decades. The point of the tax law was so people would come in and develop the neighborhoods and make them nicer. I don't think that they meant for it to happen to this extent. I don't know the area particularly well though, I live 1.5-2 hours away and catch most of it on the radio.
 
Our taxes rose to pay for some fairly badly needed infrastructure repairs, and to return about 50 miles of little used asphalt roads back in to gravel roads. Along with that, we got hit for a one time 150$ charge for giant trash cans I neither want nor need, simply because Waste Management wants to automate trash pick-up and eliminate a quarter of its workforce.

The first half I'm 'ok' with, but the second half [trash cans] pisses me off because I had no knowledge of it even happening until I got my property tax bill.
 
I always like to compare scams. Gives me a heads up for later.
 
ancona said:
Our taxes rose to pay for some fairly badly needed infrastructure repairs, and to return about 50 miles of little used asphalt roads back in to gravel roads. Along with that, we got hit for a one time 150$ charge for giant trash cans I neither want nor need, simply because Waste Management wants to automate trash pick-up and eliminate a quarter of its workforce.

The first half I'm 'ok' with, but the second half [trash cans] pisses me off because I had no knowledge of it even happening until I got my property tax bill.
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Isn't it funny how something that is supposed to save them money, costs us money out of our pocket, yet our monthly bill doesn't go down? We switched to those big automated cans 8 or 9 years ago now.
 
11C1P said:
Isn't it funny how something that is supposed to save them money, costs us money out of our pocket, yet our monthly bill doesn't go down? We switched to those big automated cans 8 or 9 years ago now.
Click to expand...

AND the big recycling cans for which I am billed 5 dollars a month. When I complained, I was told "you have no say in the matter. The city council has decided it is good for your grandchildren." Likewise my complaint about the two smart meters placed on my house. (water and electric) "that hasn't been scientifically resolved yet".
 
garbage here- you have to order the service.

It works out. I could take it to the recycling dump and pay $2 a bag- however 2 neighbors allow me to cram mine in theirs- so I wait till the last minute and then cram it in- so I dont take up their space. Naturally I also bring their cans in or out if such is needed.

I am pretty good at stepping on garbage and smashing it down.
 
Phone manners 101. If I tell you to speak into the phone- it means I am only hearing portions of your conversation. Dont get mad at me when I dont grasp what you told me- you are so paranoid that your neighbor will hear our phone call- that I dont get to hear our phone call. If this continues I have no choice but to banter with you only by email. When I say I cant hear you- it means I cant hear you. GA!
======================

Hey how do I tell a smart meter??
 
As soon as you move into our city, they bill you the garbage along with the water. If you choose to have private garbage service, then you have to send in proof for them to stop billing you.

We switched to the city garbage service and shortly after, they passed a regulation that said you had to take recycle containers as well, and they would charge extra for those. They would also charge to pick them up if you didn't want them, and still had to pay for the service.
 
69mach351 said:
As soon as you move into our city, they bill you the garbage along with the water. If you choose to have private garbage service, then you have to send in proof for them to stop billing you.

We switched to the city garbage service and shortly after, they passed a regulation that said you had to take recycle containers as well, and they would charge extra for those. They would also charge to pick them up if you didn't want them, and still had to pay for the service.
Click to expand...

its for your grandchildren.
 
I don't particularly mind the recycle bin or the idea of recycling, but I believe if the program is successful, and the account becomes 'positive' over time as many of these programs eventually do, the profit should go to the citizens that were forced to allocate their personally owned "commodities" to Waste Management. After all, the bin belongs to me since I paid for it and the recyclables belong to me since I paid for those as well. In addition, the land being used for the sort facility was county owned land [paid for with my taxes] and the facility was commissioned and paid for with similar tax money. Waste Management has nil investment and stands to gain a nice little windfall of aluminum, tin and other commodities as a direct result of the luxury of spending MY money.
 
If they ever actually created a profitable gov run anything

1. I would be in deep shock

2. They would sell it so they could 'invest' the money in something unprofitable !
 
The thing here is that Waste Management is a huge, multi-national corporation that makes huge money, so there will be a profit. The only input the government has is to provide free venues to them to institute this recycling program, which benefits themselves exclusively. there is no language in their contract, approved by the county commission, that states a single word about any commodities sales and where the money goes.
 
ancona said:
I don't particularly mind the recycle bin or the idea of recycling, but I believe if the program is successful, and the account becomes 'positive' over time as many of these programs eventually do, the profit should go to the citizens that were forced to allocate their personally owned "commodities" to Waste Management. After all, the bin belongs to me since I paid for it and the recyclables belong to me since I paid for those as well. In addition, the land being used for the sort facility was county owned land [paid for with my taxes] and the facility was commissioned and paid for with similar tax money. Waste Management has nil investment and stands to gain a nice little windfall of aluminum, tin and other commodities as a direct result of the luxury of spending MY money.
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They are too busy trying to figure out how to take more of our money, then to figure out how to give any back.

I find it horribly sad at the number of programs that are funded by a small, and sometimes "temporary" tax increases (sales, property, etc.), but fail in the first one to three years, but the tax stays in place. :flushed:
 
69mach351 said:
They are too busy trying to figure out how to take more of our money, then to figure out how to give any back.

I find it horribly sad at the number of programs that are funded by a small, and sometimes "temporary" tax increases (sales, property, etc.), but fail in the first one to three years, but the tax stays in place. :flushed:
Click to expand...

just like our public schools here. The buildings are being shut down, but the tax remains.
 
the city is not going to plow the snow today- because it "is too cold"
 
Our city isn't plowing apparently cause it's just going to snow again, so why bother.
 
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